Your eyelashes have an important job of protecting your eyes, but they also can help enhance your eyes. Long decadent lashes make your eye make-up more pronounced, and the eyes themselves look open and wide. But, unless you are naturally gifted with full and long lashes, there’s only so much that mascara can do. Like many of us, you might be on the quest of how to get longer lashes, well look no further! Here we share our top tips for how to get longer lashes naturally, as well as popular beauty treatments to improve them, like LVL and extensions. 

How to get longer lashes naturally

There are several different ways that may help to boost the strength and length of your eyelashes naturally. It’s common to want to get longer lashes naturally, but also quickly. The reality is that with home-based methods you’re going to have to be a bit more patient than simply getting extensions. But here are some of the most popular ways of encouraging longer or thicker looking lashes.

1. Castor oil

Applying cotton swabs dipped in cold-pressed castor oil along your lash lines before bed is thought to work because of the ricinoleic acid component. Ricinoleic acid helps prevent hair loss.

2. Coconut oil

Coconut oil can be applied in the same way, and is thought to help prevent the loss of proteins. Using oils can also help you get longer lower lashes as the oil adds some weight to the lash.

3. Olive oil

Olive oil is rich in oleuropein which has been found in non-human studies to increase hair growth. It can be applied using cotton swabs directly to the lashes at bedtime. With all of these oil methods, take care not to get oil in the eye and rinse it off in the morning. 

4. Green tea

There are so many reasons why green tea is good for you, but you can also add healthy lashes to the list! Green tea is bursting with polyphenols and these can help promote hair growth. You can apply it topically too (make sure it cools first!).

5. Vitamin E

You can take vitamin E as a supplement, or apply it directly to your lashes. It’s a really powerful antioxidant and therefore helps to reduce oxidative stress that is thought to increase hair loss. It also has tocotrienol in it which can help boost the number of lash strands. 

6. Lemon peel oil

A study has found that lemon oil promotes faster hair growth and combats eyelash mites. If you fancy this method, we suggest making your own lemon oil by mixing the peel with olive oil and leaving overnight, but you should be really careful here.

7. Eyelid massage

Lash growth requires adequate blood supply. Massage can increase blood supply, therefore leading people to believe that gently massaging their eyelids daily can help with lash growth. 

8. Petroleum jelly (Vaseline)

Eyelash mites make you scratch your lash area, removing the hairs and causing damage. Using petroleum jelly can get rid of the mites and simultaneously moisturise your lids. Bear in mind that this is an anecdotally popular method, but there isn’t actually any research behind it.

9. Shea butter

Shea butter, which is rich in antioxidants such as Vitamin C, is known to boost collagen and combat free radical damage. It makes sense that many will choose shea butter to aid lash growth and help ensure thicker fuller lashes. 

10. Biotin

Biotin deficiency is known to cause hair loss, including with the lashes. Taking a supplement can ensure this isn’t a problem.Many beauty brands have formulated eyelash serums with a wealth of these ingredients to help enhance your natural lashes. Our favourites are the Nouveau Lash and Brow Conditioning Serum, the No7 Lash Impact Serum, and the RevitaLash® Advanced Eyelash Conditioner.

How to nourish your natural lashes

There are also ways of caring for your lashes that help to prevent them from thinning. A diet rich in fatty acids, biotin, zinc, vitamins A, C and E, iron and zinc can help. Gentle cleansing of your eyelids each day and choosing the highest quality eye make-up you can afford is also beneficial. Always remove make-up before bed and save your eyelash curlers for special occasions only.

Beauty treatments for longer fuller lashes

By far the quickest way to get longer and fuller lashes is to opt for extensions. Lash lifts will also help to ensure your lashes look more noticeable.

LVL Lash Lift

An easy solution to get longer fuller lashes is to treat yourself to an LVL Lash Lift, which can even be done in the comfort of your own home in London or Manchester. Exclusive to Nouveau Lashes, an LVL lash lift adds volume and lift but does so only using your own natural lashes. They are low maintenance and are a great alternative to extensions, which don’t work for everyone. Don’t be dissuaded from thinking that your natural lashes aren’t a great starting point. That’s the whole point! Remarkably, the treatment can make the most stubborn of lashes appear longer and thicker. 

Lash extensions

If you are looking for more pronounced lashes then lash extensions are likely to be your go-to solution. You can actively choose eyelash extension lengths up to 18mm, so there’s plenty of options to go long!However, just because you can choose such long lashes, doesn’t mean you need to or should. Talk to your beauty therapist and they will be able to advise you on the best length for the look you’re after.You’ll also need to consider curl and volume. With volume, it’s possible to choose different options (i.e. 1D to 6D, or even higher) denoting the number of individual lashes being applied. It’s a way of adding extra depth and leads to a softer result without as much damage to the natural lashes.Crucially, curl type is important when choosing lash extensions as different curls can give the appearance of being longer. Each curl type is denoted by a letter and your lash technician can explain these to you. We find the D-curl is great if you want a dramatic long lash look, whereas C is a popular option for longer looking lashes which aren’t quite so intense.Eyelash technicians will customise their approach and design for you so that you can achieve longer lashes that suit you. See our full range of at-home lash treatments in London, Manchester and Brighton.